Sweet Dreams
by piercesbitch
Summary: Babydoll had thought she'd never see Rocket again, but she was wrong.


The room was still and dark. All of the girls had settled into their bed a few hours prior - the room had been quiet ever since. A petit blonde occupied one of those beds. She wasn't sleeping, however, only lying on top of the bed sheets and staring up into the black abyss of the tall ceiling. The case that covered her pillow was dampened with her make up saturated tears. Baby Doll let out a shaky sigh as she slowly worked her body onto its side while sliding her arms around her pillow at the same time. She was a mess. She had lost so much in only the course of a few weeks. First her mother, then her sister, and to top it off her stepfather put her into the asylum. She gained a new family while there, then quickly lost them all again. She felt like she was cursed; that everyone she cares for will eventually die or disappear. The only logical thing for her to do would be to avoid getting close to people.

Baby pressed her face into her pillow and held back her reoccurring tears. _Crying won't bring them back, Baby, _she thought to herself. _You have to stay strong for all of them. _Baby slowly forced herself into an up-right position and leaned herself against the bed frame. She rubbed her eyes with her palms, which further smeared her black mascara under her eyes and across her lids. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes – the sight at the end of her bed startled her. The familiar oval face framed with choppy, short hair was definitely something she was not expecting to see ever again.

"R-Rocket?" Baby stuttered out, unable to believe her eyes. Rocket gave the blonde a small smile and slowly nodded her head. Baby's lips parted in disbelief; she wasn't sure if what she was seeing was real or not, but that didn't stop her from moving down to the end of her bed and wrapping her arms around the presumably dead girl.

"I take it you're happy to see me?" Rocket chuckled as she hugged the small girl back. 

"You have no idea," Baby murmured, pressing her face against Rocket's chest. Rocket gently squeezed Baby in her arms and rested her cheek against the top of her head. "How are you?" she asked softly. The petit blonde shrugged her shoulders and pulled away.

"Not fine," she answered quietly. The shorthaired girl's face changed into a look of concern. "Amber… an-and Blondie are gone. And Sweet Pea left. She went back home." Rocket gave her a sympathetic look as she reached out and gently caressed the side of her face. "I'm alone."

"I'm sorry," Rocket said. Baby Doll shrugged in response and looked down at her folded hands in her lap. Rocket moved so that she could slide her arm around Baby.

"What do I do?" the blonde asked, trying to not let tears spill out of her eyes again. Rocket took a moment to consider what to tell the other girl before she spoke.

"You survive. For all of them."

"I don't know if I can," she whispered. Rocket moved her hand and slowly tilted Baby's face up so that she could look into her eyes.

"You can, Baby. You can. You can stay strong for everyone. Don't be afraid, even if you are." Baby looked into Rocket's eyes as she spoke, taking in every word and nodding slowly.

"Okay," she answered.

"You've made it this far. You led us in getting those five items to help us get out of this place. Without you, we would not have even tried." Rocket was smiling sincerely while she spoke.

"But I got Amber, Blondie, and you killed," Baby whispered back. Rocket let out an audible sigh.

"No you didn't. That was meant to happen," she said. "Your destiny was to set Sweet Pea free. You didn't fail, you did what you were meant to do."

"I guess," Baby Doll answered with a shrug, still not fully convinced. "The lobotomist comes tomorrow," she said after a short silence.

"I know." Rocket soothingly ran her hand over the girl's white blonde hair.

"I'm scared," she whispered as she slowly tucked her head against Rocket's shoulder.

"Don't be," she wrapped her other arm around Baby. "You'll be fine. Everything will be better after that."

"I won't be me." Baby's voiced cracked.

"Only to people on the outside. You'll be the same on the inside; you'll just be stuck in your happy place," she said softly, trying to calm down the obviously terrified girl. "Your family will be there. As well as me, Sweet Pea, Amber, and Blondie." Baby craned her head up to look at Rocket.

"Y-you will?" Rocket nodded.

"If you want us to be," she smiled.

"I do." Baby hugged Rocket closer to her.

"You'll be fine," Rocket whispered before she softly kissed the blonde's forehead. Baby closed her eyes and soaked in the attention of the other girl.

"Don't leave," the blonde said as she stretched her legs out on the bed. Rocket didn't answer – she simply let Baby Doll rest against her. After a few moments of shared silence, Rocket spoke up.

"Baby?" she said.

"Yeah?" Baby answered as she looked back up at her.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Leaving you."

Baby Doll didn't answer immediately. She sat up so that her face was level with Rocket's. The red rims around her eyes from crying were visible even in the dimly lighted room. She placed her hand on the shorthaired girl's cheek.

"I'm sorry for letting you leave." Rocket's eyes swelled with tears, but a smile crept onto her lips.

"We'll be together again soon," she answered. Baby nodded and slowly rested her forehead against Rocket's. It was at this moment when Baby realized that they were more than friends, but less than a couple. Her fingers stroked Rocket's smooth cheek as a tear slid down her own.

"All the pain will be over soon," Rocket whispered. Baby smiled very slightly – finally trusting Rocket's statement that everything will be okay. Rocket slid her fingers under Baby's chin and tilted her head up slightly. Gazing into each other's eyes, Rocket slowly guided her lips towards Baby's. Their eyes closed as their lips touched. The kiss was soft and sweet, and everything that either of them could want. It comforted Baby and made her feel safe; it reinforced Rocket's words that promised she would be okay.

Their kiss lasted a few minutes too short, for they were forced to pull away to catch their breaths. They both let out small chuckles as their foreheads were placed back together.

"Would it be bad if I admit that I've wanted to do that since I first watched you dance?" Rocket said with a goofy smile on her face. Baby, with a similar smile, shook her head.

"No," she said with a giggle.

"Good," Rocket grinned. "Because it's true."

"Mm," Baby moved her head to Rocket's shoulder and closed her eyes. Rocket wrapped her arms around the girl and slowly moved so that they were both lying down. Baby settled on top of Rocket with her face tucked against her neck. Rocket's fingers slowly pulled through her soft, blonde hair as she drifted off to sleep.

She woke with a startle. Her arms were tightly wrapped around her pillow and her sheets were tangled around her legs. The sunrise shined through the cracks in the blinds that covered the windows in the room. Baby sat up and rubbed her eyes before glancing around. All the other girls seemed to be fast asleep. Baby's eyes eventually moved to the end of her bed then darted around the rest of it. Rocket was nowhere to be seen. Tears slowly welled in her eyes as she came to the realization that it all was a dream. Biting her lip to keep the tears at bay, she slowly shook her head, not knowing if she should still believe everything Rocket said to her in the dream. Baby glanced up at the clock on the wall adjacent to her; her lobotomy was scheduled an hour from now. _Even if that wasn't really Rocket in my dream, I should believe what she said, right?_ Baby thought to herself. _It's all plausible, _she convinced herself to stay strong for everyone.

An hour later when she was led into the operation room, she held her head high. She showed none of the fear that she really felt inside. She stared up at the lobotomist with a certain confidence that made him hesitate while holding the lobotomy needle above her eye. He carefully lined the tool in place and brought his hammer back, pausing a minute before striking the needle. She heard the clang of the tools coming in contact, and then suddenly, she was in paradise.


End file.
